5 Times Ironhide Wasn't There
by Marie Vulffe
Summary: Revised as of 4/18/13! - '07 Movieverse. A 5x story, featuring Ironhide and Annabelle Lennox. Take four - Turning eighteen is a big deal. The pyrotechnics and unannounced guests might a little much, though.
1. The Snake Bite

Updated 4/18/13. Did some cleanup for this story, as well as weaving in a few little things that tie it into my Secondhand Sparks series. That was my original intention, only it got away from me for a while.

Took a few liberties and tweaked the movie canon. Most of the models are the same, but they look much more like themselves, just updated for the 21st century. In my head-canon, they weren't able to reconfigure their paint jobs til later on, having to do a rush job on the duplication process. Picture something like a G1/Prime/07 mashup. Hell, picture them however you want. And don't look at me like that; you know you wanted to do the same thing.

* * *

_In which there are snakes and first meetings_

She is three and fearless and inquisitive. She is young enough to not know any better than to wander off alone - it is her home, after all, and the great wide world is waiting just outside her back door. Her mommy is cleaning up in the den, her daddy...her daddy is gone again, along with his big red truck, the one he sets Mommy and her in the back of and takes them up and down the road, the wind in their hair, laughter flying out behind them.

There is a garden in the back, with a little gate and a little white fence. Tomatoes and basil and cucumbers surround her; she giggles and sinks her baby teeth into one of the juicy red vegetables. There is a path that cuts down the middle of that garden, and branches out every few feet to wander off into the greenery. She takes the very last one leading off to the right, a good few dozen yards away from her house. She loses interest in the half-eaten tomato in her hand; dropping it, she fishes her arm into the sweet-smelling grass for some mint stalks to chew on -

And then there is a stinging sharp _pain _on the top of her delicate little hand, and a slithering hiss fills her ears. Blinking, she looks down, and there is the copperhead, wending it's way across the tops of her feet and into the vines behind her. A moment later, her shriek pierces the still summer air.

A clattering noise, sneakers pounding on dirt, and then her mommy is there with her, kneeling down to check on her – her face goes paper-white when she sees her baby's hand, and the quiver in her mommy's voice scares her more than the snake did.

After that things move too quickly for her to comprehend. Her mommy tells her sternly, _don't move, baby, don't move your arm at all!_ And then she's gone and back, and she's on the phone, bending down to wrap a blanket around her baby's shoulders. She is then scooped up, and suddenly they are in the front yard and her mommy is muttering grown-up words under her breath. In the distance, she hears a wailing, like on TV – sirens.

Minutes stretch into countless hours, and her hand is _throbbing_ and _burning_ and as big as a baseball, but she still doesn't move it because mommy said not to. An ice pack appears as if out of nowhere, and is pressed painfully on her swollen hand. She almost flinches, but stops herself. Her daddy would want her to be brave.

And then a big red and white van is in their driveway, and she's being bundled into the back of it. Three or four people hover around her, one of them her mommy. Words are said: _be still sweetie; how does your arm feel; you're going to feel a little pinch _– they've stuck her with something, and she's afraid, but her mommy is right there with her, holding her other hand and stroking her little blond head. She is made to lay down on a funny-looking metal bed, and then they're on the road.

Before she knows it, they've stopped and are pulling her out of the van, still laying on the bed. Faces and words and a long white hallway pass by in a blur, and then she's being hoisted, transferred to another, bigger bed. There are wires and screens and beeping noises everywhere – but her mommy hasn't let go of her hand, and she knows not to be afraid now. Her daddy will be here soon, after all, and she wants him to know how brave she is.

* * *

Much later, after people have poked and prodded and done funny things to her snake bite, she falls asleep for what feels like a minute or two. She is woken by a warm, callused hand on her leg, and she opens her eyes to see her daddy's dark ones looking down on her. A smile creeps across his face, and the creases around his eyes crinkle. She grins back at him, and tells him that she wasn't afraid at all, and at that moment it's the truth.

Her mommy is in a chair in front of daddy, and behind the both of them, leaning against the wall nearest the door – a man. A soldier, like daddy. He wears black, like daddy, and has shiny dog tags looped around his neck. He sees her watching him, and one side of his mouth curls up a little. Her daddy turns around to see what she's looking at, and smiles again. He tells the soldier Thank You, and the man lifts his chin in acknowledgment. He turns his face back to hers, and he pushes himself off the wall to step up to her bed. His hand joins her daddy's on her opposite leg, and he squeezes her, just once.

"You're one tough kid, you know that?"

She looks up at him, wondering at the look in his eyes – _fear, and relief, and rot-gutting guilt if I'd just been faster she wouldn't be _here – and says, "I know. _He's_ my daddy."

Her parents laugh, but she and the soldier are silent, watching each other. His big hands tighten once more on her leg, and she thinks that she likes the way one side of his mouth hikes up higher than the other when he smiles. It reminds her of something, but she doesn't know what – she's never seen him before, that she can remember.

Her daddy says his name is Aaron Hyde, Lieutenant, and they work together. He and her daddy had just entered Arizona when mommy called, and it was the Lieutenant that had turned what would have been a nine-hour drive into five. (Of course she doesn't realize that this is very improbable, and doesn't see mommy raise her brows in disbelief.)

She reaches out a little hand – the one not swathed in gauze – and he meets her halfway, eyes crinkling like daddy's do, and they shake hands properly. His massive paws engulf her dainty ones almost comically, and she feels her eyes widen. She hadn't realized how very _big_ he is. He's taller than daddy! And older – there's a silver sheen to the cropped dark hair at his temples. But his face is a strong one, and his eyes – laser-bright blue – are sharp and attentive. His hands are warm on hers. Her mommy says something about letting her get some more sleep, and her daughter rolls her own blue eyes. Lieutenant Hyde's mouth pulls up at the corners again, and he ducks his head to wink at her out of her parent's line of sight. She bites her lip to hide a giggle, and decides that she likes him.

Then he turns to go, hands dropping away from her, and her parents move in closer, hovering, patting her face and shoulders lovingly. She sighs, but lets them have their moment. She watches the soldier reach the doorway, and just before he leaves, he glances back over his shoulder, and the fingers of one hand reach up to touch his forehead in a small salute. Then he's gone.

She smiles. It's always nice to make new friends.


	2. Schoolyard Showdown

Edited 4/18/13. More tweaking, mostly restructuring sentences/grammar and whatnot.

* * *

_In which there are assumptions and no sympathy_

She is eleven and growing and awkward. The girl is a little too strange for them, too quiet, too slow to agree to everything the others say. It doesn't help that she's taller than everyone in her grade, including the boys, and that her ears are unfortunately on the large side (according to everyone that isn't related to her). Usually she doesn't let it get to her. But Momma's been getting migraines, more than usual, and Daddy and Hyde are away again, and she's _sure_ she flunked her Geography test.

All this is on her normally carefree mind, and she's not paying attention to what she's doing. So when she walks right into Melinda Hayes' lunch tray, she might have well have been asking for it (as the girls are sure to inform her later).

She looks up from the floor to Melinda's red face - it's not just from the tomato soup - and lets her jaw drop open. The cafeteria hubbub dims suddenly, and with a start she realizes that every eye is on the two of them. Waiting. _Slag._

But, shockingly, nothing happens, except that one of Melinda's flunkies silently hand her a napkin, and without a word the girl mops herself up. When her face is clear, she looks back up at Annabelle, and it takes everything in her not to flinch back. The girl's face is neutral, but her eyes are _livid_.

Still...nothing. No scream of outrage, no scathing insult...but as Melinda, seemingly unwilling to retaliate, pushes past her to sit down at her bench, the girl jerks her chin up to hiss in the other's ear - "We're going to have a _talk_ about this when the last bell rings."

And Annabelle, soldier's daughter that she is, simply grunts in acknowledgment, and makes her way to her own seat at the opposite end of the room. She never lets on that a flock of bats have taken up residence in her stomach, and they're trying to claw their way up her throat and out her mouth.

* * *

She thinks briefly about telling a teacher, but just as quickly dismisses the idea. She isn't a tattletale, and she isn't going to worry her parents - her Daddy's work is important, and Mamma's still sick. And Hyde would just think she was crazy, asking someone to take care of something she is sure she can handle herself. So she doesn't let them see her sweat, even as they surround her later on in the afternoon, out in the farthest corner of the playground. And she doesn't realize it, but it's that quality, among others, that the girls, particularly Melinda Hayes, fear. The soldier's daughter's shoulders are military-square, her stride long and sure, her mouth almost always tilted in a funny little smile, like she's in on some joke that went over everyone else's heads. Her peers see all this, and don't know what to make of it. And as Daddy and Hyde tell her, people fear the unknown, and people hate what they fear.

On Annabelle's behalf, she has no idea of the image she presents to the outside world. To her, it feels like she's wandering through a carnival of cardboard cutouts, and whenever she shuffles up behind them to peer through the holes where the heads should be, she feels ridiculous, and thinks she probably looks it, too. She's made of different stuff than them, almost like a whole other plane of existence. Her classmates, the elementary school as a whole, are quick to pick up on this. The teachers call her anti-social. The kids just call her dumb. As stated before, she normally doesn't let it get to her - she's got more interesting thing on her mind, like what Hyde's going to bring back for her when he gets back from a trip, or how she's going to replace the tub of ice-cream she devoured the night before without anyone noticing. (It involved Hyde, her mom's garden potatoes, some Play-Doh, and blackmail - that's a different story, though).

She's also a good student, which, in children's minds, is a euphemism for 'teacher's pet.' She's never gotten anything below an A- since the first grade, and always gets her work done in a goodly amount of time. She's the first to finish a test, or to find an answer not in the book. But after a while she's learned to not raise her hand till someone else does, and to try not to volunteer for anything unless the teacher stares her down, which is rare. Annabelle's own stare is an intimidating one - it can make children and adults alike take a wary step back. Daddy like to brag and say she got that from him, but secretly, she'd like to believe she learned it from Hyde, after having it bent on her one time too many.

It's this look she turns to her peers now, as they press in around her like sharks scenting blood. It makes Melinda freeze, but her ten-year-old girl's pride is fully on, and she forces herself to step into the taller girl's space. She makes a show of eying her disdainfully, starting from the top of her bright braided hair, down to her battered, off-black combat boots.

A nasty smirk crawls across her face, and it takes all of Annabelle's willpower not to smack it away. Her hands, hanging loosely down at her sides, slowly curl into small fists. She clenches them so tightly she can feel the dull edges of her bitten fingernails biting into her palm. _Deep breaths, back straight, head up._ Daddy's voice is in her head, and she obeys. Another deep breath, and she lets her hands fall back open, even as the smaller girl makes a comment on her somewhat oversized feet.

"No wonder you ran into me - you couldn't see past your ginormous feet. Where'd you get those boots from, Annie, your _dad_? They probably fit perfectly, don't they."

It was no secret that her dad was in the military - that knowledge was at once a blessing and a burden, here at school. While most of the boys thought it was pretty cool, the girls were a different story - Melinda's parents were war protesters, and never missed an opportunity to bring it up at PTA meetings.

Another girl took up the thread and ran with it. "Yeah, Annie, little soldier girl, filling up her daddy's shoes - bet your gonna shave your head and join the army too, huh? Only lesbos and rednecks go there, you know...what's that make you?"

"She's both!"

"Oooh, Mel, we better start changing in the bathroom stalls, we don't want her checking us out!"

"Eww, she knows what we look like naked!"

"Stop looking at me, _freak_!"

"Yeah, Lezzie Lennox, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean you can look at me like - "

"_Shut. Up."_

Silence.

Every girl's eye was trained on her. Melinda was furious. "_Excuse_ me? Did you just tell me to _shu_ - "

"You deaf? Or maybe you can't hear anything else over the little imaginary voice in your head telling you how great you are."

More silence.

Melinda isn't used to anyone back-talking her. Ever. Her _parents_ don't back-talk her. She has to stop this nonsense, _now_. She moves up into the taller girl's face, watching her even as she walks a tight circle around her. "You know, you seemed like such a _nice_ girl. So quiet, so _smart..._smart enough to be quiet, anyway. What happened? I thought the army was supposed to be about obedience, and _discipline_. You're not supposed to talk back to your _superiors_."

"Superior." A deadpan remark, but one that holds a wealth of sarcasm and disdain behind it. Annabelle meets the other's girls eyes, bright, steely blue clashing with golden hazel. "You actually think you're _better _than me."

The smaller girl sneers up at her, somehow managing to look down her nose even as she cranes her neck. "I don't think...I _know_."

"...Well," Annabelle finally states flatly, "what _I _know is, you'd better step. _Off_." And she leans forward, just enough to make the other girl have to move back, or risk literally butting heads.

Melinda sneers and boldly – stupidly - shoves her face back into Annabelle's. "Or what? You gonna get your _daddy_ to beat me up?"

A pause. "No." And before anyone has time to blink, a little clenched fist impacts perfectly on the other girl's nose, sending her whole body sprawling back into the dirt.

"I can do it just fine myself."

For a long minute, there's nothing but the girl's blubbering, muffled through her hands where they're clapped around her face. Then, like a switch being thrown, someone's hands reach forward and shove Annabelle forward, _hard_. She's sent stumbling into the bulky girl in front her, who takes no time at all to wrap her own chubby hands around the girl's braid, and give it a vicious yank. A hard-shod foot kicks her in the ankle; more hands grab and pinch and yank at her, and she makes one desperate attempt to rip herself away from the girl who's got her braid, only to be jerked off her feet for the effort.

The other girls are suddenly much, much bigger from down on the ground; they blot out the afternoon sun as they swarm around her. The hands are back, now open in stinging slaps and clawed fingers, and she hears a rip as someone tears her blouse. She wants to scream, for help, in rage, _anything_, but her tears are getting in the way. _Daddy! Hyde! _She wails in the sanctuary of her mind. Above her, the girls shriek in triumph as the first tear escapes, and then another, and another. From out of nowhere, a sharp, stunning blow to her left cheek sends her all the way to the ground, and instinctively she curls in on herself, protecting her head and stomach from the worst blows. _What can I do what can I do someone please _help _-_

* * *

_"I'm just a kid." Normally not an admission she would be willing to make, but Hyde was speaking way above her head, and she didn't understand __what he was trying to say__._

_"I _know _you're just a - a kid. But just because you're little doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to you. Sometimes...bad things happen _because_ you're a kid." He was kneeling on the grease-stained floor of the workshop, face to face with her. "Look, I'm just trying to tell you what your dad doesn't think you're ready for. And he's your dad, and you're his younglin'. I get that. He doesn't want you to grow up too fast, y'know?"_

She _didn't know__, not really, but she nodded anyway__ to appease him__. _

_"But you're never too young to be prepared. Now, what I _should_ tell you is to stop a fight before it starts. 'S the smart thing to do. But you 'n' me," he gestured between the two of them, grinning lopsidedly, "and yer dad...we ain't diplomats. Mostly, we're gonna shoot first and ask questions never. But, seeing as how he won't let you even _look _at a __weapon__," and here he might have sighed a little, "you're gonna have to settle with these." And he picked up her little mitts in his massive ones, closing them into fists._

_He paused for a minute, trying to find the right words. He never was one for long, pretty speeches, but what he did say always made her sit up and listen. His eyes came back to hers, and he lowered their hands between them, squeezing them. "You gotta know what it is to stand up for yerself. Whether it's yer fists or yer mouth, you gotta learn. Yer parents and me, we won't always be around to have your back._

_Now, the first thing you gotta know in a fight is: __Don't just know your strengths and weaknesses__.__ Know your enemy's, too.__ Then, you find a way to use it against 'em."_

* * *

Her scalp is stinging, her tongue tastes blood, and above her, the enemy crows in delight at her pain.

But they were too focused on her head, her soft squishy stomach. No one bothered with her legs, her feet. The thought that she might actually try to fight back, for some unfathomable reason, didn't occur to them - such is the mentality of an eleven-year-old mob.

Her eyes are watering, her sides are throbbing, and above her - the enemy's knees.

Their weak, girly, unscabbed knees that have never known the scrape of a tree trunk, or concrete, or hot steel. And here she is, with her stomping boots on.

Without another thought save for aiming, she lashes out one steel-toed foot, and hears a rather satisfying wet _crunch_. It is immediately followed by a piercing, hysterical scream, and she strikes again, this time more to the right. Again there is impact, though it doesn't have the same sharp sound to it. More screams now, and suddenly there is sunlight above her, as the pack of children fall away. She hauls herself up quickly, taking stock of the situation. The girl she kicked has taken her place in the dirt, writhing in obvious pain, clutching at her swelling knee. The others quickly pull around her, crying and shouting. "Look what you _did_!" one of them screeches at her.

She looks, and finds no pity in her to give. They started it, and she ended it, and that was how it worked.

When the teachers finally discover them a few minutes later, they are of a different opinion.

It doesn't matter to her. Hyde and Daddy will be proud of her, and that makes her proud of herself. Momma, now - that's another story, and she knows she's going to have to get through a parent-teacher conference, a week's worth of detention, and grounding before she'll see reason. The girl's knee _is_ broken, after all.

This is the first, and last, physical altercation she will have (on school grounds). Now she knows better than to have grown-ups fight your battles - grown-ups are silly about things like right and wrong and all the little things in between. But today she learns that she doesn't _need _grown-ups for things like this. She is small, but she is strong, and her family has taught her well. And really, it's nice to learn you can stand on your own two feet. Even when you've got to hit the ground first.


	3. Roadside Assistance, 24 7

Edited 4/18/13. More of the same; just cleaning up.

* * *

_In which there are painful truths and not-so-painful hair pullng_

She is fourteen and headstrong and pissed _off_. For the past two hours she's been sitting on the curb in front of the school, waiting for 'Hide, her dad, for God's sake _anyone_ to come pick her up, but she hasn't gotten so much as a text from her mom saying they're going to be late. Teachers have come and gone, concern and consternation in their questions, but she laughs and shrugs them off, assuring them with her confident smile. She doesn't let on that she's coming to a slow boil inside - her teenager's ire has been raised considerably.

She's finished all her homework, as any good bookworm will, and tries to start on next week's reading assignment for _The Red Badge of Courage_, but she gives up after she realizes that she's been looking at the same paragraph for the past ten minutes. Also, that idiot protagonist is reminding her of things she'd rather not think of - it hasn't even been three years since the incident in Texas, and sometimes when her eyes are closed she can still smell the charred air, hear the screams. With an irritated growl, she shoves the offending object back into her satchel, and settles it on her lap.

A few mind-numbing minutes later, she's pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket and checking it for what feels like the one-thousandth time. Still nothing, like she knew there would be. She tries calling her mom's cell again, as well, but it goes straight to voicemail. 'Hide's comm. is next, followed by her dad's number. Nobody picks up.

She's seriously contemplating just walking home – it's eleven miles out, but she might see someone she knows on the way and catch a ride. If she_ really_ wants, she could ask one of the few remaining teachers – but she has her pride, and it's telling her quite rationally that if it gets around that a teacher drove her home, she'll never hear the end of it from her classmates. Sasha Benton got a ride home last year from Coach Wrede, and by the next school day she was known as the new teacher's pet, along with some other, nastier choice names. With a small shake of her head, she wonders why it has to be that way, but things are the way they are, as 'Hide would say.

So obviously, a ride home is out.

It's not two seconds after that cheerful thought that her phone belts out an old Lady Antebellum tune, signaling the end of her exile. Gritting her teeth, she picks up the call, noting that it's her dad, and prepares to give him a piece of her mind.

She never gets a chance to. As she inhales to make a sarcastic remark, her dad's voice cuts in. _"Are you alright?"_

The cutting words die on her lips before they're ever spoken, and she unconsciously grips the phone tighter. Something in her father's voice sends a warning chill through her, and Houston is suddenly very close and very loud; a ringing starts in her ears. Her heart is in her throat as she responds. "Yeah…yeah, I'm good. What's going on, Dad? Is everything okay?"

There's a tension-filled pause, and she can't help but bite her lips in worry. Then her father finally replies, and something inside shifts, lurches. _"I'm…alright. Baby…_

_I'm here with your mom, at the hospital. She just got out of surgery. There was an accident on the way up to the school, and – "_

"_Surgery_?! What the slag is going _on_? Why didn't you call me before? Why did mom need surgery? Where's 'Hide, is he okay?"

"_Annie, honey, Mom was driving the Chevy to get you; 'Hide was with me at the house, helping me finish up the tool shed. He wasn't there, but your mom's okay now – I am _so sorry_ that we never called you before, but I wanted to make sure she was going to be alright before I told you anything."_

The world is teetering, and she feels sick. "What happened, Daddy? How did she get hurt?"

"_It was at the light on Broome Street – you know it; it's got the pharmacy on the corner – some_ glitch_ ran the red light, hit your mom on her side of the car. One of the pharmacy employees called 9-1-1…she was out cold when they got there. There was a concussion, some internal bleeding – " _She must have made a noise, because her dad interrupts himself, _"Annie, she's okay now, I swear. It was touch-and-go for a bit, but they said she's going to be just fine now. They stopped the bleeding – that's why she was in surgery. They still have to run a few more tests, do another CAT scan, and she'll have to wear a neck brace for a while – but she'll be fine."_

She realizes she is crying when she licks her lips and tastes salt. "Okay…okay. Daddy, please, I want to be there. Is she awake? Can I see her?"

"_She's not totally lucid right now, but by the time 'Hide gets back with you, she might be able to talk. Just remember, she needs her rest, 'kay, Baby?"_

"Yeah, that's…okay. I just want to see her. Are you sure it's going to be alright?"

"_I _promise_, baby. She's past the worst, now, and she's tough. So are you. We gotta be brave for her, you hear me?"_

"Yes, sir. I hear you."

"_That's my girl. 'Hide should be there in a couple of minutes, so make sure you got your stuff together. I - We'll see you in just a bit, 'kay?" _

"Okay. I love you, Daddy. Tell Mamma I love her, too."

"_Sure, baby. I love you, too."_

She hangs up then, and puts her face in her hands to hold back the tears.

* * *

She tries hard not to be angry, when 'Hide finally gets there. It's not his fault, she knows that, but all the same can't help but think that if he'd just been there, her mom would be fine, they'd all be at home, and her dad wouldn't sound like his heart had just been ripped out.

So she doesn't quite meet his eyes when she clambers up the passenger side, and focuses instead on getting herself settled in, keeping her backpack in her lap for something solid to hang on to. When his hand comes into her line of vision to pop open the glove compartment and rummage around for a Kleenex, she grunts a terse thanks, and proceeds to ignore him. Morosely she wonders if this is how her mom felt, when she got the call that she was needed in Texas to see her baby in the hospital. It's a gut-wrenching thought, and she pushes it away forcibly.

Neither say a word for the next few minutes. She watches the twilight-stained streets and signs go by through the tinted windows, and feels his eyes on her from time to time. Resolutely she clutches her bag closer, determined not to look back, trying desperately not to think about where they're going. But the ground has already started shifting beneath her; she feels change coming on like a storm. Breathing deep, she concentrates on the view outside, the warm-leather-and-grease smell of the cab inside – but that's no good; it smells like him, and she doesn't want to think about him, or anything for that matter.

A noise finally pricks her ears, and despite herself, she turns just enough to glance at him from the corner of one eye.

His shoulders are taut, hunched almost defensively. Callused hands grip the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, and he stares straight ahead at the road, jaw tight and brow furrowed. He releases another hissing breath between his teeth, and readjusts his hold on the wheel. With a sick, knotted feeling in her stomach she realizes that she's never seen him look quite this miserable - not even at her fifth birthday party when she'd _insisted_ that he wear a party hat.

He shoots her an inscrutable look from out the corner of his eye, and she jumps when he catches her watching him. Their eyes meet, and a crippling wave of guilt threatens to overwhelm her when she sees the abject misery there. To her horror, she feels her face begin to crumple and tears prick behind her eyes. Before she realizes he's doing it, he's parked the Topkick – _himself _– what_ever_; it gives her a headache to think about it too much – on the shoulder of the street, and she dumps her bag on the floorboard, scrambling to get herself unbuckled.

Tan, weathered hands push hers away, and he pops the catch easily. With a wet sob, she lunges at him, and he catches her with a breathless grunt as she knocks the wind out of him. Warm, solid arms wrap around her, and she drags herself into his lap the best she can, as he's still mostly in the driver's seat, with a steering wheel in the way.

She twists trembling hands in his shirt, and buries her face in his neck to try and stem the flood of tears. She hates crying, she _loathes_ it, and in front of him it feels like the worst sort of taboo. But he's shaking too, and he grips her to him just as tightly, hiding his own face in her hair. She is afraid to know if he is crying, as well.

He mutters something under his breath, and tightens his hold until she can't breathe properly – even in their bio-matter forms, the Cybertronians are least five times stronger than the average human. Sniffing and wiping her eyes discreetly on his shoulder, she tugs on the back of his t-shirt to get his attention. "Can't_ breathe_, 'Hide."

The arms loosen immediately, but he doesn't completely let go, instead shifting to wrap an arm around her shoulders so that she leans into him a little sideways. He lets out a quiet breath, stirring the hair at her temple, and she presses further into him, listening to the solid, rhythmic pulse of his human heart. When he finally speaks, his voice reverberates in his chest, humming in her ears.

"You know I'd change things if I could, right?"

She bites her lips and nods, squeezing him. "It's okay, you know. It's not your fault."

There's a pause, an unsteady breath. "I know that. Don't stop me from thinkin' I coulda done somethin', though."

She scrubs at her eyes and finally leans back to look at him. To her vast relief, his eyes are dry, but there's an emotion in there she's seen all too often, and it almost breaks her. "'Hide, you can do lots of stuff nobody else can, but not even you can be everywhere at once. Y'know?"

The corners of his mouth quirk, but it's not really a smile. "Doesn't mean I won't try." The not-smile drops, and his eyes turn distant, like he's somewhere else for a minute – in two different places at once, really.

Then he's back, and when he looks at her again, she knows it's her he sees. She leans back into him, tucking her head beneath his chin, and he shifts around until his back is up against the door. They stay like that for the next few minutes, the silence unbroken save for the muted purr of the engine. When he finally speaks again, his voice is low and rough.

"Y'know the stories you like so much? The ones about Cybertron?"

She murmurs an affirmative, and he continues. "They're always about how I swoop in just in time to save the day. Like I'm some sorta hero."

She can't help it – she rolls her eyes. "You _are_." And she squeezes him for good measure. She doesn't realize it, but the sheer conviction in her voice, the statement of a universally-acknowledged truth, nearly undoes him, and it's all he can do not to snarl back that he's _not_, slag it all, he's just a simple mech, one more prone to bad luck than anything else. But he doesn't – he just wishes she wouldn't trust him so damn much. It's unnerving, and undeserving of him for someone like her to have so much faith in him. It _scares _him.

This is why his tone is surlier than she expects when he responds. "I won't always be around, y'know. I got obligations to look after, a war to win. I can't just sit on my aft all day to play babysitter to a bunch a' squishies."

The anger in his voice pricks at her, and she pulls away from him, snapping, "You _know_ I know that. You didn't come whatever-million light years across the galaxy to play house with us humans. You fight the bad guys, and _I'm_ the one that sits around on my aft all day, waiting to hear if you've been made into scrap. You've got more _important _things to do."

He gives her his best glare, but it doesn't do a thing – she's learned to give as good as she gets. "You don't _get_ it, Belle. I _can't_. Don't mean I don't _want _to." And he gives her braid a tug to emphasize his point.

Long habit makes her swing her hair away from him, and she bites back the angry words, things not worth mentioning. She opts for a more tactful response, and asks, "Why would you? It's not like there's anything great about doing _nothing_ every day."

When he smiles, it's slow and bittersweet around the edges. "When you've been doin' what I do for thousands of vorns, you get to appreciate 'doin' nothin' every day.'" And as abruptly as it came, his strange mood is gone, and a subtle spark of humor glints in his eyes. He takes a moment to glance out the windshield, before leaning forward. Despite herself, she mirrors him. "You tell anyone this, and I'll skin you alive: I don't particularly _enjoy_ fightin' Deceptiscum every single day of the week. Makes it kinda hard to catch a recharge, y'know?"

She narrows her eyes at him, considering. Her only response to that dubious remark is a muttered "_I'd _rather be fighting Deceptiscum every single day of the week. You give me a gun – "

"- we've been over, under, and through that, and until you can learn not to _flinch_ before you even pull the trigger – "

" - It's _loud_."

"_War _is loud. D'you _remember _Houston? Lots of slag gettin' blown up, in a very noisy and very violent way? Most of it around you? _Huh._ Cons ain't gonna put _silencers _on those cannons and concussion grenades of theirs. 'Sides, I thought you liked explosion."

He actually sounds a bit hurt then. She makes sure to pat his shoulder in a comforting way, and grins up at him, the argument all but forgotten. "When they're not right in my ear, I do."

"Hmph. Guess I'm gonna have ta give back all those fireworks I was gonna set loose right outside your bedroom window. Was gonna be a surprise for your birthday, but - "

"Mom would _slaughter_ you," is her gleeful response.

"'S'that mean I should hang onto 'em, then?"

"Hell, yes!"

"Your mamma_ will_ slaughter me if she hears you talkin' like that, darlin'."

She pretends to give that a bit of thought. "So how come it's always your fault whenever I do something stupid?"

"Default. Your dad's been trained to know better than to be a bad influence. I'm the only one left."

She smirks, and he gives her one back, fingers absently searching for her braid to pull again. "I don't know that it counts if I'm corrupted willingly." He's found the end of her waist-length hair, and gives it a yank backwards, almost tipping her over onto the seat behind her. She sputters and grabs for his shirtfront, scowling up at him as she anchors herself back in his lap. He just laughs at her, even as his arms pull her close again.

She'd almost forgotten about her momma, but as their earlier words come back to her, she feels her gut clench painfully. With an unsteady sigh, she presses into him, and asks in a trembling voice that she despises, "She's gonna be okay, right?"

Like before, his hold tightens, and one hand secures itself at the nape of her neck, twisting the loose strands of hair there between callused fingers. "You know she will be. Your dad wouldn't lie to you 'bout somethin' like that."

She swallows painfully, and nods into his chest. Listens to his heartbeat, his breath. His warm hand is still on her neck, and she can feel his heat seeping into her skin. It's at once familiar and strange, like how she knows it's him, but not really. The heart, the heat is all made up, a fabrication meant to both deceive and reassure. But he's still real, as authentic as she is, and she isn't sure which reality she prefers, if she does at all. He's just himself, flesh or metal, blood or energon, and it's enough to know that he's here.

He pulls away from her, eventually, and she scoots back to her side of the cab. He doesn't say anything for a minute, just watches her, and she watches him back. He looks far too serious, and she fishes for something to break the silence. She finds a smile in her somewhere, and throws it out to him. It's met with a crooked grin, the one that does funny things to her insides. Suddenly the nape of her neck, her back, where his arms and hands have been, are too warm. The ground's sliding away again, and something inside her quakes. It renders her incapable of looking at him anymore; she turns instead to glance out the window.

She feels him pull away from the curb, and they're back on the street, headed for the hospital. He coughs, and she finally she sneaks a glance back at him. His eyes are on the road, but one hand reaches out to tweak her braid affectionately. "What do ya say we get you an' your dad some fuel? There's a fast food joint just down the block, if yer interested."

For him to offer to stop at a drive-through…he must be feeling like _slag_. He _hates_ doing that, and never passes up an opportunity to let the general public know. Sunstreaker is the same way, much to the amusement of everyone who knows him. She shoots him a suspicious look, but lets it pass. It's his way of making things up to her, and she won't get on his case…too much.

The quaking has subsided a little, so she pulls her smile back out, just for him.


	4. Happy Birthday To Me

Edited 4/18/13. Most noticeable changes are here. Remixed some of the action and inner dialogue. Also wove in a few references to events you'll be seeing in my Secondhand Series.

* * *

_In which there are blood, sweat, tears, and un-happy birthdays_

She is eighteen and swearing and ducking for cover. It figures that her birthday would start with a bang, she thinks wryly as she dodges the debris that rains down from a corner of what was once the high school gymnasium. Around her people swarm, screams echoing through the now-roofless gym, as they scramble and maneuver for some sort of protection from the hailstorm of concrete and glass. Her peers are in a blind panic, tripping over one another, over _her_, and she grunts as an elbow impacts painfully with her stomach. Even amidst the gritty smoke and choking atmosphere of terror, she finds a moment to wish fervently for jeans, tights, _something_ other than the pleated blue and gold skirt that's riding up her thighs and probably giving everyone behind her – if there's anyone left alive back there – quite a show.

Of course today _would_ be her birthday, and there _would_ be a pep rally. She wishes whoever had come up with cheerleader uniforms a slow and horrific demise, preferably at the hands of the Cons that are currently crashing said event. At least that way they'd be far, far away and she could live out the rest of her eighteenth birthday in one piece.

_All this and I still haven't gotten any presents. Happy fraggin' birthday, Belle. _

She presses herself closer to what used to be seats from the bleachers, torn from their moorings by enormous black hands. From behind her vantage point she can just barely spy a glowing red visor, impassive battle mask, and the headlights of an older model Ferrari mounted in what used to be a black and red chest. The paint's been worn down to the chrome underneath. _Who the fuck is that?_

Then another Con pushes into her line of sight. Drag Strip. Where one of them goes, the others won't be far behind. The unfamiliar one must be Dead End. After a brief moment of confusion - he'd been missing in action since before Earth's settlement - she can't help but shudder. That would mean that the Decepticons finally have a fully functioning gestalt team at their disposal.

On the other hand…Shockwave must have been desperate, to hand a simple smash-and-grab mission to the most unstable of his units. The Stunticons she's familiar with aren't known for their bravery in battle (and what Con is, really? She can count them on one hand), and their methods are at best sloppy and lackadaisical. No promotions in the foreseeable future for these mechs. The other three most likely pulled Twin duty. She almost feels sorry for them.

They must have gotten wind of 'Hide's current mission somehow; her Dad and he are a continent away, in France sussing out a lead on a potential Autobot landing. Why else would they choose now, of all times, to attack? Normally, sending a whole combining unit after one human would - literally - be considered overkill. But a ward of the infamous Ironhide will be heavily guarded, and 'Hide isn't known for his compassion or – well, anything resembling gentleness.

With a sigh borne more of exasperation than actual worry, the blonde turns to glance around her, examining the debris around her with a practiced eye. Chunks of concrete and plastic are scattered across the cracked gymnasium floor, along with – _bingo_ – thick steel shafts that had once been part of the roof's support system. She twists around to make sure the Cons are on the other side of the room, and freezes. Dead End is currently in the middle of shaking off two daring football players who had attempted to grab onto his enormous leg, reaching for the sensitive cables that cluster at the back of his knee. One of them flies against the shattered wall with a dull, wet sound, and it takes everything in her to not cry out. She knows these kids, she has grown up with each and every one of them – and after today, many of them will not make it to graduation. For a moment she reels, stricken as the thought hits home. They are here for her, she knows, and because of this her friends are dying.

True fear finally sets in, and she feels sick. Daddy and Ironhide aren't here to save her. No one is going to stop this. They're going to kill everyone that gets in their way, and when they find her – when they find her –

Her hands are trembling, and the soldier's daughter is lost as a young, inexperienced girl takes her place. They're so big, and there's going to be more of them, and I'm just one person – what can I do? Not this; I can't do this. This is Hide's job, it's his job to shoot the bad guys and make everything safe. Why isn't he here?

_I can't do this. _

And then she's crying, sobbing into the back the chair she's curled up against, fist pressed to her mouth to muffle the sound. She can taste the salt, and it just makes her weep harder. Suddenly she's back in Texas, and the ground is splitting open beneath her feet, and the bad guys are_ everywhere_ -

The ground beneath her really does tremble as Drag Strip demolishes what's left of the east wall, and the screams intensify. She adds her voice to the bedlam, courage crumbling around her faster than a sandcastle in high tide. The noise dissolves into white sound, ringing in her ears, and she falls, pressing her face into the gritty floor.

_"What the _fuck_ is _wrong _with you?"_

A hand is suddenly tangled in her hair, and she is pulled unceremoniously up to her knees – coming face to face with an exceedingly pissed-off Melinda Hayes. The girl's hazel eyes are bloodshot, and her nose is bloody, but that doesn't stop her sneer. "Of all the times to lose your nerve, soldier girl, _now is not it_!" And Annabelle is shaken thoroughly for emphasis. She falls back on her rear, shocked out of her crying jag. Melinda snarls, and grips the blonde's shirt-front, hauling her back up until she is nose-to-nose with her.

"Look, bitch, I may not like you, and you may or may not have cheated your way into squad captain" – just one more point of contention between the two – "but ho-bag, you better man up and get us the hell out of here, because no one else can."

"I – I can't –"

"Goddammit Lennox, everyone here thinks the sun shines out of your Jell-O ass, so apparently you _can_. You know about this type of shit, okay? Your dad's all mixed up with those alien freaks, so you know how to deal with them. So start dealing."

It's like coming out of a fog, and realizing that the house is less than a foot away from your outstretched hand. The two rivals stare each other down, one glowering, the other blinking rapidly. She couldn't be more shocked than if she'd been slapped – frankly, she's surprised Melinda hasn't used her rant as an excuse to do just that – and can't think of a word to say. It sounds like something Hide would tell her. Ironhide, strong and fearless and mean as hell, who is half a world away.

He may not be here – but she is.

Around her she can still hear the wailing of her peers, the hum of super-advanced weaponry, the scrape of metal against concrete as they scour the room for her. The Cons are speaking to one another in Cybertronian – she catches a few words here and there that she's familiar with, one of which is her name – and knocking aside debris as if it weighs no more than a clod of dirt. Setting her jaw, she tears her eyes away from the other girl and twists back around to assess the situation. They've plowed through most of the graduating class, and are working their way steadily towards the girls' meager shelter. She has to work fast.

"So…thoughts? Comments? Wailing and gnashing of teeth? Give me something to work with, here." Melinda never could keep her mouth shut, and the more terrified she grows, the bitchier she gets.

Annabelle sucks in a deep, bracing breath through her nose, and shifts to face her nemesis. But before she can say a word, the ground quivers, then buckles around them. Melinda screeches and makes a desperate lunge for Annabelle's arm, sinking her French-tipped nails into the girl's bare arm. Annabelle doesn't have time to think, only act. She uses the brunette's teetering balance against her and body-checks the girl, propelling both of them out of the way just as the chairs that had been their only haven shatter behind them. They land in a heap, limbs tangling as they scramble for equilibrium. Annabelle finally manages to grab Melinda under her arms and heave her upright, and looks at her grimly. "First order – always do what I say."

"Second – don't die."

* * *

Easier said than done.

She and Melinda barely dodge the next blow as someone – she's sure it's Drag Strip – smashes oversized fists into the floor behind them. "It's the target! Grab it, grab it!"

Annabelle groans as they stumble over the wreckage. "Seriously, you'd think these guys would learn to tell male from female by now. But nooo, we're all just little gender-neutral hamsters to them."

Even as she trips over a shattered ridge of floor, Melinda manages to shoot the other girl a Look. "We're running for – _fuck!_ - our lives, and you're upset because they don't bother to compliment – _oof _- you on your feminine qualities? Remind me why I'm supposed to trust you, again?"

"Because – _pant_ – because if you don't, you'll end up as a pretty little pancake on the bottom of their foot? Try cheering your way out of that one."

"Point."

And they say no more after that, choosing to save their breath as they dodge flying shrapnel and torn up floor-boards. Several times they have to veer off their path in order to round up other students who haven't yet made it out of the gym. They form a straggling chain of bloody, grimy teenagers, most of whom are either crying or screaming or both. Melinda finally barks at them to shut the hell up and follow her, or end up as alien hacky sacks. They're a little quieter after that. Annabelle has to admire her guts, even if she's usually been on the wrong end of that temper more times than she can remember.

They hit the double doors at a run, never letting go of each other. Tight end Adrian Frye has a shamelessly tight hold on Annabelle's torn blouse, and behind him are six others, jocks and headcases and geeks all clinging another's hand or shirt or belt. Social status has been left far, far behind, somewhere beneath the Stunticons' graceless, massive feet.

She spies what used to be part of the bleacher's guardrail, and she scoops it up into her hands, arming herself. Annabelle's mind is racing far ahead of them, already mapping out a course for them to follow. Of course she won't be going with them, but that's beside the point. If Melinda can do what she's told – to run for her life and make sure everyone else does, too – then the others will be in the clear, leaving Annabelle to head off the Cons. The Twins are on duty back at her house, but the fact that they haven't arrived yet is a little worrying – and telling. The missing Cons must have distracted them. All one of them has to do is insult Sunstreaker's paintjob, and good_bye_ logic and reason. But _soon_. Knock on wood, she has backup on the way.

They're in the darkened hallway, the sounds from the destroyed gym dogging their heels. Annabelle wheels around a corner, dragging Melinda and Adrian with her, the rest following suit. The metal shaft is cool in her sweaty palms, and she keeps a death grip on it. There's no time left, not if they want to survive. They'll have to work fast. All the others are watching her, panting, snuffling back tears, wiping grit from their faces. She eyes them, taking in their collective bedraggled state, and is glad there aren't any mirrors nearby. Melinda would be flipping her shit right now if she could see the state of her hair.

"So, fearless leader, what's the next move?" Melinda raises her voice above the ruckus that's steadily moving closer. The two girls' eyes meet, and somehow Melinda can see what's going on in Annabelle's head. "Aw, _hell_ no. You are so not going out there and playing hero. That's not manning up, that's setting up for a tea party right under their feet and asking them politely to pass the sugar and while you're at it, would you please kindly _squash me_?!"

"I don't – look, Mel, you've got to get them the rest of the way out before those mechs get here, or we're all dead. They'll listen to you. You guys listen to her, you hear me?"

She shoots this at the motley group clustered around her, and there's a loaded silence before Sasha Benton wails, "You're demented! You can go back in there and let them take you!" The rest of them are raising their voices, clamoring for her attention; some asking her why the aliens are after her, others begging her to stay with them. Through all this, Melinda is quiet, staring at her. Finally she speaks.

"Just who the hell do you think you are, Lennox? Some sort of big damn hero? Gonna save us all by getting yourself killed?"

The Cons are almost on top of them now; she can feel the floorboards vibrate beneath them, and hear the walls splintering as they wade through plaster and drywall. Not enough time left.

"No. My dad and my guardian are big damn heroes. I'm just going to do what they would do, in my place. Now _GO_! Head for the cafeteria; pull down the chairs and tables and form a phalanx – use them as _shields_, Melinda – to protect yourselves the best you can. It's me they want; I'll divert them from your path, lead them outside. They shouldn't (_please God please_) follow you."

Anything anyone else might have said is lost in the tremendous _CRASH _as a set of lockers is hurled right past them, wheeling down the hallway and out of sight. Some kids are screaming again, and without another word Melinda grabs two of them and pushes them further down the corridor they've ducked into. There's no time to say goodbye, good luck, Primus be with you, but Annabelle is thinking it as she rounds the corner, out into the main passageway. Right into the Cons' line of sight.

She swings her weapon, letting it bounce sharply against the lockers with a ringing sound. They're close, only a few yards away, and the noise grabs their attention. Drag Strip's got his blaster out, and behind him Dead End is shouldering his rifle. She takes one wild, deep breath, and grins up at them. "Hey, uglies! Lookin' for little ole me?"

* * *

Well, she certainly has their attention.

With a howl, Drag Strip lunges for her, but she's ducking away, weaving around the long reach of his arms, and sliding between pillars of legs to pop up behind him. One down, one to go, and she never once pauses, wheeling away and dropping into a roll to avoid Dead End's grasp. But the element of surprise is gone, and he is ready for her. With a grunt, he snags her by a leg, and she is hoisted up into the air. Suddenly she is dangling upside down (little blue boy shorts on display for the world to see), and is held up to visor-level. She blinks at him, and lets her smile show. As he cocks his head at her, curious despite himself, she heaves her pole up towards his hand, shoves the end into the wedge between thumb and forefinger, and gives it a vicious twist.

Cables spark and snap, and with a yelp his fingers spring open. She lands roughly, palms smacking the floor, letting the momentum of the fall soften the blow as she rolls right between the Con's sturdy legs. He's still shaking out his hand, grumbling irritably as his partner smacks him upside the helm. She doesn't look back, just pops back onto her feet and heads for the outside doors at a dead run. Glass and shattered floorboards threaten to trip her up, but without the burden of others clinging to her, she vaults over them with relative ease. Her right knee is aching from where the Con had picked her up – he had twisted it in his efforts – but she grits her teeth and ignores it for now. She can worry about torn ligaments later, when her life isn't in jeopardy…if she's alive to worry, anyway.

Right now she concentrates on making it outside, to the trees that lay just beyond the perimeter of the schoolyard. She knows from past experience that the woods can encumber much larger mechs, not only tripping them up and getting tree branches caught in their leg joints, but also making thermal scans harder to read. Any wildlife they scare up will be on the run, and the pounding hearts and heightened heat signatures from animals mixed in with hers make it difficult for some mechs to decipher. It's the best chance she's got, outside of the Autobots showing up in the nick of time.

They're after her again; their bounding footsteps echo in her bones, and she can hear the high-pitched whine of their weapons charging up. Behind her debris rains down as they smash through the ceiling – the building is too short for these two to fit inside comfortably, so they opt for the easiest solution and _make _it fit them. Dust and particles of concrete sting against the back of her legs and arms; they're right on top of her again, but she's here, she's at the door, and sweet merciful Buddha it's already propped open and she makes a beeline for the parking lot.

The lot is both a help and a hazard; while she can use the cars as a shield from their optics and weapons for a time, the vehicles can also be used against her should they decide to start swatting them out of the way. Which is, unfortunately, the most likely scenario.

_Happy birthday, indeed._

She almost makes it.

* * *

She has just barely reached the first row of cars when a sizzling bolt of energy rockets past her, consuming a truck several places down in a luminescent fireball. The force of the explosion knocks the vehicle off its tires, flipping it fender over bumper straight in the air. Even before it begins its fiery descent, Annabelle can calculate where it's going to land – right in her path. Ignoring the scalding heat that buffets her face, she dives between two other cars to her right, just as the truck hits the pavement. The ground beneath her shudders at the impact, and cars around her creak, swaying on their tires. She can hear the Cons behind her laugh, delighting in the destruction. _Yes, fire pretty_, she thinks sourly to herself, and wishes they'd be distracted if only for a few more seconds, to give her time to make her escape. But this isn't the movies, and they're not cartoon villains who are going to sit and roast marshmallows in the blaze. There's no _time._

And then she sees nothing but the ground beneath her pounding feet, hears nothing save the sound of her sneakers hitting the pavement. Adrenaline seizes her chest, rising in her throat, pushing her body forward even as the muscles in her legs scream in protest. She's very fit, with a curvy, athletic build, but the fear and desperation and rage are taking their toll on her. _Gotta make it to the treeline, gotta slow them _down. Running different scenarios through her head – would weaving between the cars be faster, or should she just hop across hoods? – She grits her teeth and sets her body on autopilot. She's done this before, somewhere miles and years away. She was a kid back then. Now she's bigger, faster, better prepared. She can do this now. _Better not jump, then I'd just give them a better shot, got to stay between vehicles_.

She crosses the next two rows with ease, letting her momentum carry her around the obstacles in her path. She's a distance runner, built for stamina, but her sprints aren't anything to sneer at, either. She knows how to check herself, letting her muscle memory guide her steps. If she tries, she can make believe that this is just another drill, an obstacle course set by her instructors, with a record to beat. It's not that hard – she wouldn't put it past Ironhide to set a few flaming pieces of debris in her path, either, just to shake things up. Right now she'd give anything for it to be an Autobot, _any _bot, to be behind her right now. Even Thundercracker would be better than the slag she's got on her six. As the only Con she's ever had the (mis)fortune of chatting with - naturally while running for her life - at least she could be sure he wouldn't step on her.

A whoop behind her is a harsh reality check. They think this is _fun. Probably didn't think I would make it this far_, she thinks grimly. (That's what they'd thought in Houston, too.) Some like the chase, and Drag Strip – well, he wasn't really firing on all cylinders to begin with. A curse accompanies the cry, and even as she charges the last row of cars, she winces. From what she's heard, Dead End isn't the most enthusiastic of combatants, but of the Stunticons, he may be the most thorough. If he's on your tail, then you'd better pray you have backup, preferably someone built like a tank and packing more firepower than Iran. Otherwise he'd just bowl you right over, not even bothering to stop and swerve.

She's felt their jarring steps coming closer, occasionally lighting up another vehicle, forcing her to make hasty detours and recalculate her exit strategy. They never target anything too close her to, she observes – apparently they need her alive, or at least somewhat conscious. She knows that if they wanted her dead, she'd already be a smoking crater in the blacktop. _Thank God for small favors._

"Hey, squishy! What's the rush! It's not like we're trying to kill you or anything!" This is accompanied by a snicker. "We just wanted to play a few rounds of 'how high can the human bounce!'"

She doesn't dignify with that with a response.

"I'm calculating that I can get at least _two_ bounces out of you before you turn into a puddle of goo. Whaddaya think, Deads? Think you can get more?"

Silence, only the rattle of cars and pavement as they stalk closer filling the air. Apparently, Dead End doesn't think this is funny, either.

"You are such a killjoy. Ha, get it? _Kill_ –"

"Finish that sentence, and I'm going to see how high _you_ bounce. Just shut up and catch the kid."

"You need a personality, Deads. Seriously."

Every second they spend bickering is another second closer to the treeline. She rounds the bumper of the last vehicle in the lot just as another explosion, this one much closer than the others, rocks the ground, sending her stumbling. A Cybertronian swear cuts the air, along with a metallic _thump_. "Glitch! We can't bring back a crispy critter. Watch what you're doing next time."

"I _was _watching. Silly squishy, can't even handle an itty bitty fireball. Pathetic."

She silently agrees with him. Her knees and palms are smarting, and when she scrambles back to her feet, vertigo threatens to overtake her senses. Oh, for a Cybertronian's processor, that could recalculate and rearrange your equilibrium in less than a heartbeat…but no, she's stuck in her squishy, defenseless, _tiny _body, with no armor, no weapons, no hope. Just her human brain, and her limited human skills. Compared to them, she supposes she _is _rather pathetic.

But the trees are only a few meters away now, and she rallies herself for the dash. Despite her many failings, they are counterbalanced by the fact that she is, in fact, human. The ability to disappear into the foliage, escaping the Cons' eyes in the underbrush, is one of them. They may be able to see miles away, and have infrared scanners, but they can't make trees evaporate from their path like they were never there. Knock them away, burn them down, sure – but they'll still be there, catching in their joints and getting in the way. It's not much, but it's all she's got. Like her mentors have taught her – know your enemy, and use their strengths against them. _It's middle school all over again._

It makes her think, if only for the few precious seconds while she draws breath and lunges away from the protection of the cars, of Melinda and the others. She tastes acid, and tries to bat away the images of the roof caving in on them, or the Cons setting the building on fire, just for sport. Of using her friends like human _hacky sacks_.

_And where the hell are the Twins? Hide was so right about them - worthless pair a' pretty ornaments, fraggin' _slackers_. Get your afts over here and turn these guys into scrap already!_

And then, as if in answer to her unspoken plea, a squeal of tires and an earth-shaking _barroom!_ rends the air, and behind her she hears both of the Cons swear extensively. "Fraggin' do-gooders! I'mma pound your ugly cans in, you hear me! Think you can just show up and – aw, _frag,_ not _you _two!"

"UGLY?! Say that again to my face, you cheap imitation of a luxury model!"

Sunstreaker. The utter _relief _that pours through her almost sends her to her knees. But she keeps moving, despite the cavalry, because in battle you never let your guard down, even when your enemy's surrounded. You never know what tricks they'll have up their proverbial sleeve, or how many more of them there are. Besides, the ground is still quaking from their footsteps, even as Drag Strip snarls something back at the pretentious Autobot. They haven't given up yet – but neither will I.

_Tag_. Her palms smack against the first of the trees, and she dives for the next one, leaping over the prickly brambles that try to tangle around her feet. Moving further into the forest, she finally dares to glance behind her – and groans.

The two opposing sides have finally stopped moving, and are just _standing _there. Sunstreaker and Dead End have their respective weapons trained on the other, but neither one seems willing take the first shot. The other two are oblivious, Sideswipe picking up his brother's slack and hollering insults back and forth across the destroyed parking lot.

Something about interfacing with a vending machine is mentioned, and the stalemate comes to an abrupt end. She can't tell who moves first, Drag Strip or Sunstreaker. Then they're at each other's throats, literally, and Sideswipe is leveling his shoulder-mounted cannon at Dead End, who is crouching defensively, rifle at the ready. Sides is hollering at his brother, Dead End is shaking his head ruefully, and through it all the two combatants are wailing away at each other, Sunstreaker finally landing a solid uppercut to Drag Strip's faceplates, sending him skidding back into a row of cars. There's a terrific squealing and grinding noise as he collides with the metal, and the golden mech doesn't hesitate before hurtling himself after the other.

Sideswipe is so intent on keeping Dead End at bay and keeping another optic on his brother, that he doesn't even register the hulking form of Motormaster looming up behind him until Annabelle screams. He wheels around on his heel, but it's too late – a giant armored fist is already moving towards his head, and as soon as Sideswipe is distracted, Dead End takes a few lunging steps, and tackles the red mech at the knees, sending him right into Motormaster's grip. From behind her tree, Annabelle hits her head on the tree in frustration, only to wince at the bark that digs into her skin. _Typical, egotistical smart-afts. _

She loses track of how much time has passed since the Twins arrived; a good few minutes, at least. The two Autobots are holding their own against the three Decepticons, something that doesn't really surprise her – the two of them are perhaps the most deadly fighters of the Autobots, and the most brutal. She's seen Sideswipe hold a mech in a headlock and let his brother take shots at him, which he did with perhaps more enthusiasm that was absolutely necessary. The Con in question didn't stand a chance in the Pit. Now she watches from the safety of the forest, trying not to let the deafening screech of metal on metal bother her. It still makes her teeth ache, and she grits them in annoyance.

Sunstreaker finally manages to force Motormaster and Drag Strip's faces together in a jarring collision that sends them both reeling. Dead End has Sideswipe bent over backwards in an awkward hold, not realizing until too late that Sides has his rifle jammed into the Con's torso. The resulting shot has Dead End jerking backwards, his hold loosening until Sideswipe can slip free, wheeling around in one smooth move until he's at the other's back, and uses the butt of his rifle to knock the Con into unconsciousness. Further out in the lot, Sunny has the stunned Drag Strip in a headlock, and almost lazily brings one sharp, armor-plated knee up into Motormaster's lowered face. As the larger Con fall backwards, stumbling, the melee fighter rearranges his grip on Drag Strip's helm, and gives a sharp, savage twist. Sparks fizzle and snap as neuron cables are dislocated, and the Con's body gives a shuddering jerk as it slumps to the pavement.

Sunstreaker gives the motionless Drag Strip a careless kick, and steps over him to finish off the gestalt leader. It takes only a single blow to the side of the head, and Motormaster joins his teammates on the cracked asphalt. As quickly as it began, it's over, and Annabelle slumps against her tree, letting the moment sink in.

Sideswipe is headed towards her now, after checking to make sure Dead End is out cold, stepping over smashed cars and buckled pavement carefully. Taking a moment to straighten what's left of her uniform, and smooth down her frazzled hair, she goes to meet him halfway. They'll make fun of her, regardless, especially Sunstreaker. He'll stick his nose in the air and proclaim that he's not touching her until she's been dunked, scrubbed, and hung out to dry. Sideswipe is already laughing at her.

With a sigh, she rests her fist on one cocked hip, and asks, "So what the Hell took you boys so long? Did Sunny need an extra coat of wax for the cameras?"

* * *

Fortunately for everyone involved, The Twins had taken care of Wildrider and Breakdown earlier on, as they were two of the three lucky individuals assigned to distract the guardians from reaching their temporary ward. The fire trucks and SWAT vans show up shortly after, and the firemen begin evacuating the buildings. Annabelle, after having been through a cursory scan by Sideswipe (and predictably being ignored by Sunstreaker after it was confirmed she wasn't injured beyond her twisted knee, and she shushed Sides when he insisted that she sit down), helps the best she can. The twins make their way to collect the gestalt team, leaving her to her business. The firefighters won't let her back in the building, so she puts herself to work by first filling in a bulldog-faced SWAT member what happened (which mainly consisted of "You can just wait for the spokesbot to get here, so go bother someone else for now."), and then doing a headcount of the survivors.

All the while, as she scans the faces for certain people, she's wondering how long it will take for her parents and Ironhide to get here. Mom's already on the way, should be there any second, but Dad and 'Hide are on the other side of the planet. It will take till nightfall, at least, even with the ever-ready cargo planes that are kept on stand-by to take the Autobot heroes wherever they want to go. They'll have already gotten word of the attack, which means she'll have a very worried, very pissed-off pair of soldiers to deal with when they do arrive. In the meantime…Mom.

She's riding with Beachcomber, who is probably one of the few mechs that can put up with the twins on a constant basis. Even before he comes to a stop, her mom's already out the door, hitting the ground at a run straight for her. Mother and daughter meet, Sarah barely stopping to do a once-over of Annabelle before pulling her into a crushing embrace.

She finally has to wrangle herself from her mother's grasp, panting a little. "Jeez, Mom, I think you just did the Cons' job for them," she attempts to joke, but Sarah will have none of it. Her hands are still wrapped around Annabelle's, and she can't take her eyes off of her only child. Chagrined, the girl drops her eyes from her mother's, unable to bear the weight of the love and fear she sees there. She's never been too good with emotions, whether as a result of being raised as a soldier's offspring, or simple inherent nature, but when faced with her mother's pain, she can't help but turn away.

Because of this, she doesn't see the realization that crosses her mother's face. Annabelle was always her father's daughter, tromping along on his heels in his old combat boots. But to see her standing, alone and unafraid, the only thing at her back the destruction she helped wreak – she knows that her daughter has grown up, and lost her innocence somewhere along the way, without her mother knowing it. Thanks to them. The Autobots.

And for a just a moment, hatred stings behind her eyes and steals her breath. Her daughter is the product of a world at war, and nothing can take it all back and give her years filled with garden tea parties and secrets shared under cover of night. All her efforts, her struggle to keep her daughter safe and untouched, are for nothing, and if it weren't for these creatures, the ones that brought their pointless, eons-old war with them, she would still have her baby, weak and shivering in the scraps of clothing that cling to her. She would still have a little girl, not this strange, wild creature that stands before her, unbound hair a standard of some far-off, foreign place that she will never know.

Then her daughter shoots her a wary look from out of the curtain of her hair, and asks, "So do you think this will stain?" And sweeps her hands down her front, gesturing to the irreversible damage done to her cheerleading uniform. And as suddenly as it hit her, the anger is gone from Sarah. Her shoulders begin to shake, whether from mirth or hysteria, or maybe just relief, and she sweeps the hair away from her daughter's eyes, seeing in them the girl she missed for so long. Someone she hadn't laid eyes on since she was eleven years old. A bemused smile pulls at the girl's mouth, and she shakes her head, touching the hand that lingers on her cheek. "You know, that leakage could be a sign of a more serious internal problem." Quoting Ironhide, back when he was still ignorant of the more intricate workings of the human female.

Her mother's face crumples in laughter, and she takes hold of Annabelle's face, cupping it close. "Baby, the only thing wrong with me internally is my heart. I swear it was trying to come up my nose the whole way here." And she shakes her daughter lightly, for emphasis.

"While fascinating, that is physically impossible." Ratchet's words of wisdom. And she can't help herself anymore; she flings her arms around her mother, staunchly ignoring her body's many twinges of protest. Sarah rocks her back in forth where they stand, gripping the back of her uniform tightly, and Annabelle is grateful for the support as the motions cause her knee to finally buckle beneath her.

* * *

"…I did _tell_ you to sit down, didn't I? Sunny, tell Ratchet that's what I said, I swear. Yes, I scanned her, from her grubby toes to her hard little head. No, I didn't pick her up, I – well, have y_ou _tried telling that kid what to do? She's worse than Hide when his cannons are fritzing. Hey – ok, I'm _going_; c'mon, bro, I didn't come here to get bawled out, I swear, every time I just try to pay a social visit I always get something thrown at me – "

Sideswipe's voice finally fades out as he and his brother beat a hasty retreat from Ratchet's med bay. She can faintly hear Sunstreaker snapping back, and she sighs through her nose, letting the familiar pattern of it all relax her.

She's situated on the humans' side, where the med beds actually fit their much smaller, organic frames. A heart monitor is stuck to her, and though her vital signs have been steady for some time, she is still under surveillance, at Sarah's insistence. Not that Ratchet's opinion is moot, not quite, but she is her mother, and nobody refuses Sarah Lennox when she's on a mission.

So she sucks down her Jell-O (an old favorite that she'd insisted on), and leans into the upright bed. Mechs have been coming and going for some time, and the Twins had been cut loose a while ago, but came back to poke at her. She knows that they – or at least Sides, with Sunny trailing along behind reluctantly – mean well, but it's mostly that they're checking to make sure Ironhide's ward doesn't hold them responsible for her current state. She doesn't really blame them. If she was in their position, and she too had been thoroughly distracted by a mudslide set off by Wildrider, she would be a little worried about her various limbs and accessories, as well.

She bites back another yawn – damn Ratchet for those sedatives; 'something to calm your mother's nerves' had been his excuse – and blinks hard to clear her eyes. Right now the bay is silent, the only background noise the mechs and men that pass by outside the double durasteel doors. There's jack-all to do, and her mother has gone to get her an update on her classmates. The survivors were care flown to the nearest human hospital. So no company for her.

Eventually she dozes; barely aware that people have come and gone, with voices she dimly knows she should recognize. When she finally pulls back into consciousness, the med bay's lights are on stand-by, and the windows placed up near the ceiling are dark. She had slept until nightfall. And now she needs the bathroom. Looking down at her bound-up leg, she makes a face, as if to say 'this is entirely your fault,' and braces herself to stand.

"Don't be a hardhead, kid; you got crutches. Use 'em."

The voice startles her more than she would like to admit, and when she jumps, he chuckles lowly. Scowling, she turns to face him. Pistons and cogs hiss, metal whispering against metal as he moves into her line of view. Kneeling down in front of her, he grins. "Bet you missed me today, huh?"

Despite his levity, there's a reserved, almost distant air about him, something that's calling his attention away from her. Attuned to him as she is, she picks up on it almost immediately. She knows it can't be her father; he wouldn't be teasing her if it was. Leaning forward on her bed, she studies him. The crooked smile fades, and he glances away from her, moving back to his full height. He gestures to the crutches that have gone unnoticed, and makes as if to leave. "I'll go get your parents, tell them you're awake."

Something squeezes the breath from her as she watches him go. Not a word of his own wellbeing, not a single scan to make sure she's functioning the way Ratchet is sure to have promised.

And then he surprises her once again as he hesitates just outside the doorway. When he turns back around in one sudden decisive move, she squares her shoulders automatically, ready to be bawled out or interrogated, whichever comes first. He does neither. Instead, he gives her that inscrutable look he's so good at, the one that she knows is supposed to mean something. It reminds her that he is much, much older than her, and has seen too much. They watch each other for a minute, she having to rock back on her bed in order to see his face more clearly.

One large dark hand finally reaches out, and she closes her eyes as she feels his fingers rest atop her head. "Don't say it," she hears herself murmur. She knows that he's sorry, he's _always _sorry when he's not around. It doesn't ever change anything, though. Air stirs her unkempt hair as he sighs through his vents, but otherwise he is silent at her request. She doesn't dare open her eyes as he brushes a thumb down her cheek, letting the sun-soaked warmth of the metal smooth out her drawn expression. If she is still long enough, she'll be able to feel the subtle magnetic pulse in his fingertips, like a heartbeat. But she pulls away at the last minute, before she forgets where she is and does something she can't take back later. The hand drops, and she finally opens her eyes to see him holding up the crutches between two fingers, his careworn features distant and unknowable once more.

Breathing carefully through her nose, she takes the equipment, unable to look past that hand to the optics that see more than she's comfortable with. He moves quietly out of her way, standing back up to his full height, and turns his back on her. Leaving again, for which she is grateful. It's times like this, when he's sorry and she's sorry and neither has words to make it better, that almost make her wish she didn't care so much. Sometimes it's easier, the farther away he is – that way, she can make herself pretend they're both somebody else. It's her most well-kept secret, the fact that she is, deep down in a tight little space somewhere under her ribcage, a coward.

She forces herself to ignore his departure, but she's not even halfway off the bed when she hears his voice from the doorway. From out the corner of her eye, she sees him turn to glance at her over his shoulder. "From what I hear, you gave those Cons a run for their money." Finally she gets another glimpse of his familiar smile, however subdued, and he lifts his chin in a small salute. "Guess bein' eighteen don't mean you're too old, after all. You did good, Belle."

She doesn't know what to say to that, and before she can wrack her brain for something besides a simple _thanks_, he's gone.

* * *

Her dad's eyes are alight with something she's seen before, when they watch fireworks or witness a Cybertronian's transformation from machine to mech. A restrained awe, like he's being let in on the world's best-kept secret. There's a small grin tugging at his mouth as he hugs her to him, careful not to jostle her too much. "Well, birthday girl, you had enough adventure for one day?"

"For today, yeah. Let's put a raincheck on anything cropping up the rest of this week, too." Her response, though meant in jest, comes off a little restrained. Her mother shoots her a Look as they help her into the wheelchair (and how humiliating is that, anyway?). Her father doesn't notice a thing, and keeps right on trying not to smirk. Finally fed up with the overall weirdness of everything, she snaps, a little more harshly than she means to, "Okay, so what's the big joke? You guys find Galvatron sittin' around a café wearin' a tea cozy an' sippin' a soy latte, or what?"

Her dad snorts through his nose, and she knows he's picturing exactly that. Rolling her eyes, she slaps the arms of the wheelchair. "I didn't get a word outta 'Hide, so what gives?"

Her mother is still silent, but her father looks bemused, shaking his head slowly. "You mean he didn't say _anything_? Huh. He's been kind of quiet the whole trip home, come to think of it. God, a cannon-strapped metal behemoth brooding is _not _who you want for company on a thirteen-hour plane ride."

Frustrated, Annabelle turns to her mother as they start wheeling her down the hallway. "Mom, seriously, did something happen? Did the guys find anything important, or did they just get rick rolled?" In the back of her mind, she's picturing an ambush, 'Hide humiliated and hogtied, while a dozen minicons laugh at him. She sighs. It _would _be his ego that gets the beating, she thinks dourly.

Her mother takes a breath to respond, and in that minute they round a corner, coming face-to-knee with three Cybertronians, ones she's never seen before. Her dad rolls the chair to a stop, and each group eyeballs the other for a long moment. Annabelle, irritated further still with her embarrassing position, cranes her neck to get a better look at their faceplates.

They're _girls_, she thinks, the shock spreading through her like freezing water over her head. There could be no mistaking it; the tell-tale curves of their chestplates, the long, streamlined legs, the finer details of their faces all give them away as Cybertronian females. The one nearest her, a black and pink model – possibly a Mini Coop? She isn't sure – kneels down to speak. The other two remain standing; one with their arms crossed, and the other at military parade rest.

"General Lennox, we meet again." The female's composed voice is nothing short of hypnotizing; with her shorter, curvier build, the pink markings contrasting sharply with her luminous blue optics, she is a picture of mechanized beauty. The gleaming antennae-horns, along with the sharp, slightly menacing helm atop her head only serve to balance out the rest, marking her as someone not to be dealt with lightly. A weapon that could be compared to a space-age revolver rests at her hip, and Annabelle is positive it's not just there for show. She can't help herself; she stares unabashedly.

The effeminate warrior's optics sweep over the girl sitting before her, and her helm tilts, as if pondering something. "You are unable to travel under your own power? Is that what this contraption is for?" She does not sound disdainful, merely curious. Annabelle winces anyway.

"Yeah…yes, I sorta injured my leg, and I'm not supposed to put my weight on it till it's all healed up…" She drifts off, unable to take her eyes off the female warrior. The other being inclines her head in understanding, still maintaining her serenely neutral bearing. Behind and to the left of her, a silver-blue model with a lean build and a windswept helm shifts, as if she is loathe to remain still for too long. The lead female glances back at her and smiles a little, softening her composed features.

"Yes, this is Ironhide's ward. I suppose you would like to meet her?" And she nods towards Annabelle cordially. "Forgive me, girl, my designation is Elita One. I understand you are called Annabelle? Your creators – your _parents_ – have told me much of you. And," her optics crinkle a little in subdued mirth, "of just what Ironhide's been up to these past few vorns." With that, she steps back, letting her blue companion take the lead. She nods sagely to Will and Sarah, and studies Annabelle with the same careful analysis that her comrade had used. For a long, strangely intense moment, the two size each other up.

Her optics take in the apprehensive state of the girl in the chair, the barely-contained energy she seems to exude, the need for action more evident now that she is confined. The fibers that grow from her cranium draw her attention, and Annabelle's eyes widen subtly as the warrior's hand moves as if to touch the waist-length sweep of hair, still unbound and hanging over her shoulders. At the last minute the hand withdraws, the Cybertronian probably recalling that this species is one that appreciates personal boundaries.

Finally, the blue warrior speaks. "I haven't been planet-side for two cycles, and already I've heard tell of you." This one's voice is huskier, with an almost lazy drawl, but her optics are as sharp as lasers. "So you're the one who's been keeping 'Hide on his toecaps this whole time." And she smirks a little. Annabelle tries to smile back, but the world is starting to sway alarmingly, and she can't do it. She knows this feeling. She braces herself.

"This," she indicates with a sweep of her hand the pink figure, "is the head of our team, Elita. The red runt you see on my right here is Flareup. You'll like her; she's short, like you." This makes the unfortunately height-handicapped Flareup level a glare at her compatriot's back, and makes what Annabelle recognizes as a pretty rude gesture in Cybertronian. From the corner of her eye, she sees her dad bite back a grin.

The sleek female smirks and continues as if she hadn't noticed, leaning in towards the humans. She spreads her hands apart, gesturing to herself proudly.

"And you can call _me _Chromia."


End file.
